43. The state of New York set up a school district just for Orthodox kids

The village of Kiryas Joel in upstate Orange County is home to thousands of Orthodox Jews of the Satmar sect. Most of the kids go to (gender-segregated) shul, of course -- but the inbred nature of the Satmar community has led to a large population of kids with developmental disabilities. And the Satmar parents wouldn't send them to special school in the surrounding district, because of that newfangled coeducation thing.

So the state went ahead and set up a public, gender-segregated school district just for Kiryas Joel! (Did I mention that its residents tend to vote in bloc?) After a court slapped it down, they tried again -- and succeeded.